The rain began early in the meet, while the first round of field events was under way and the sprint trials were just starting, and it continued all day. In spite of that, the 2015 Frosh/Soph Invitational was a huge success, drawing the largest field ever for a meet that goes back 10 years in its current form. Young athletes from all over the state produces noteworthy performances in difficult conditions, and several athletes either improved their regional standing or qualified for the first time. In addition, some of the marks recorded yesterday will show up in state-wide rankings over the next few weeks. Check out some of the highlights below!
More Frosh/Soph Invitational Coverage
Jayhlen Washington Takes Three Golds
This wasn't a huge surprise, but it was still an impressive performance. The North Brunswick sophomore was the 1A/2A Indoor State Meet MVP, and he has continued to improve this spring. He did most of his damage in the field events, jumping 21' 11.5" and 43' 8", and also brought home the win in the 110 Hurdles. In addition to Washington, several other North Brunswick youngsters scored well: Cameron Barnhill finished 2nd in the 100 and the long jump, and several teammates posted 3rd-place finishes. The Rams also won the 4x100 and 4x200 relays convincingly. Given the success Washington and his other young teammates are having this year, it's fair to wonder how many state titles they can win before their run is over.
Several other power athletes had strong days, as well. Bruce Black (Jordan) threw a PR of 128' 4" in the discus, while Garner's Matt Butler dominated the shot put with a 44' 1.5" mark. Ben Finger (North Gaston) carried on the family tradition in the pole vault, adding another 12' 6" to an incredibly consistent season where he has been at either 12' 6" or 12' 7" in every meet since March 25th. After narrowly losing to Washington in the high hurdles, Ralph Vieux (Garner) ran away with the 300 Hurdles. Carlito Lamb (Southeast Raleigh) managed to dip under 23 in the 200 despite the rain and a headwind, and fellow 9th-grader Jalen Herring (Middle Creek) took home the gold medal in the 400.
McNamara Adds Sub-2:20 to her Resume
Chapel Hill's girls will have a load of talent back for 2015-2016, and for the second year in a row one of the Tigers had a breakout race at this meet. This year it was Clare McNamara winning the 800 in 2:19.25, while teammate Katherine Dokholyan finished 3rd. That's enough to give Chapel Hill the 2nd-best group of half-milers in the state right now, with all 5 of them returning. McNamara had a big week overall, having run 5:07 at her conference meet on Thursday.
Of course, cool and rainy weather doesn't affect the distance runners as much, as evidenced by some of the strong performances throughout the meet. Gable Dershem (Cleveland) had a great day, earning gold in both the 1600 (4:29.95) and the 3200 (9:46.04) while fighting off serious challenges down the final stretch of both races. Annie Pierce (Cardinal Gibbons) won the 1600 with a big PR of 5:17.63, and Mount Tabor's Meredith Roberts did likewise with an 11:48 in the 3200. Christian Pigues (Trinity Academy) continued to assert himself as the state's best young 800 runner, while Mount Tabor's boys and Southeast Raleigh's girls took wins in the 4x800.
Continued Success for Two Southeasts
Sometimes a school achieves sustained success in certain events, to the point where they actually become associated with those events. So, when Southeast Guilford coach Alton Tyre told me during the meet to "watch out for Kiya Oviosun," it had some weight behind it. The freshman posted solid times for the conditions while winning both the 100 and 200. It looks like she will become the latest in a long string of solid boys and girls sprinters to come out of that school.
There are several schools that are well-known for regular relay success, including Southeast Raleigh, who took gold in three relays at this meet (and silver in the fourth). Look deeper, though, and you'll see an emerging throws factory: Bulldog seniors Hasana Clark and TIffany Dunham are among the state's best, and this weekend we saw another star emerging to take their place. Sophomore Candice Whitley threw 36' 4.5" to win the shot put and 113' 5" to claim gold in the discus, both close to her PR's while managing to stay balanced and powerful on rings that were slick from the rain.
It Wasn't Just The Young'Uns, Either
Although the focus of the meet was the Frosh/Soph races, a few upperclass runners took advantage of the scattering of Junior/Senior events to post strong times. G'Jasmyne Butler (Leesville Road) ran 2:15.72 NC #5 in the 800, while teammate Emily Pettis posted a season-best 5:14 for the 1600. Lauren White ran her first 100 of the season and clocked a respectable 12.41 into a -1.0 wind. Nolan Patrick (Northwest Guilford) ran under 2 minutes again in the 800, while Michael Madden (Mount Tabor) held off Matt Bomkamp (Northwest Guilford) to win the 1600 in 4:28.
